Yale Bulletin and Calendar

November 7, 2003|Volume 32, Number 10

Although he is smaller than most javelin throwers, Rich DeStefano is one of the country's top contenders in the sport.

DeStefano hopes 'game plan'
will bring him to Olympics

Rich DeStefano first realized he had a good arm when a counselor at a summer camp in Maine challenged him to a rock-throwing contest.

The counselor told the then 15-year-old DeStefano that if he could throw a rock a certain distance, his reward would be a case of Coca-Cola.

The promise of soda "was like finding gold" to a teenager who had been deprived of it during camp, recalls DeStefano, who is now a clinical exercise physiologist in the Cardiopulmonary Exercise Lab in the School of Medicine's Section of Pediatric Cardiology.

DeStefano met his counselor's challenge, and confirmed his skill at throwing while playing center field in baseball games, during which he could throw players out at home base while standing far into the outfield.

Today, the Yale staff member is ranked as one of the country's top javelin throwers, and he is readying himself to compete in the U.S. Olympic trials in Sacramento, California, in July.

For DeStefano, who also qualified for the U.S. trials in 2000, once again reaching his goal of being an Olympic contender is a thrill that has come after years of training and hard work.

"To prepare for this summer's trials, I've basically been on a three-year plan that involves training six days a week for two to two-and-a-half hours, working each day on different exercises to condition my body. I have a game plan for every month of my training -- working on strength by swinging sledgehammers or throwing medicine balls, for example, and working on explosiveness and agility. Every exercise I do, whether lifting weights or circuit training, complements another -- all geared to giving me power and perfecting my explosive ballistic movements -- so I can throw far."

In addition to a regimented personal training schedule, the 32-year-old DeStefano competes with the country's top javelin throwers by attending national meets every other week.

At 5-feet 6-inches and weighing 160 pounds, DeStefano is much smaller than most javelin throwers, who are generally at least 6-feet tall and weigh at least 200 pounds.

"If anything, being smaller just motivates me more," says the Yale exercise physiologist. "Every time I go to a meet and step on the track, the competitors who don't know me think their winning is a sure thing. I like giving them a taste of what I can do."

DeStefano first became interested in javelin throwing -- a sporting event dating back to ancient Greece -- while he was a student at South Windsor High School in Connecticut. A football player and swimmer, he took up track to keep in shape during the off-seasons. While in college at Southern Connecticut State University, he began training with Bill Sutherland, a world-renowned throwing instructor, who also taught him about proper training techniques and perseverance.

After college, DeStefano became even more serious about the sport, and he began hurling the spear-like javelin, which weighs about two pounds, over a distance of 220 feet. The top American javelin throwers, he notes, reach a distance of over 240 feet.

In 2000, DeStefano was rated one of the top 10 javelin throwers in the country, but he had a disappointing throw in that year's U.S. trials, after which he had planned to retire. The letdown about his performance, however, only increased his competitiveness, and he continued training. At an exhibition at Rutgers University last year, he beat his personal best by nearly eight feet, firing off his javelin to reach a distance of 245 feet.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of preparing for the U.S. Olympic trials, DeStefano says, is spending time with other top javelin throwers at elite training camps, which are held four or five times a year.

"You have to chase the competition," comments DeStefano, "and the best way to be prepared for competing against the best is to practice with them." Even though they are vying to outdo each other's throw, the athletes develop a great camaraderie, he adds.

DeStefano works with pediatric cardiology patients at Yale about 20 hours a week and spends another 20 hours working with young athletes at the Cheshire Fitness Zone, where he is a personal trainer to children and teens. He is also the strength and conditioning coach there for members of Cheshire High School's skiing, volleyball and women's swimming teams, and he runs the fitness center's weight management program for obese children.

Most of his life, in fact, revolves in some way around athletics, DeStefano says. The father of two daughters, he also stays busy attending his 10-year-old daughter's premier soccer games. His wife, Lisa, serves as manager of the soccer team, and is a regular companion to DeStefano when he trains at the Yale gym.

"Given how much training I have to do, it's nice when it doesn't all have to be about Dad," he quips.

Every year, DeStefano runs a two-day javelin clinic in March at Hillhouse High School that is attended by young throwers from all over the East coast.

"I enjoy being able to share what I know with them," he says. "I am able to demonstrate to kids what works as an athlete whether they are in track and field or in some other sport. It's great to see kids aspire to something that you are able to help them with."

For now, DeStefano is keeping his mind off of what it might be like to be a participant in the Olympics in Athens in September, instead focusing on preparing for the U.S. trials. He'd like to be among the final three javelin throwers chosen to represent the United States, but he describes his own aspirations as something a bit less lofty.

"My hope is to stay healthy, throw real far in July and then to come home happy on the plane from Sacramento," he says. "That's my expectation."

-- By Susan Gonzalez

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